Shloka 58
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 5 — Karmaphala-Nirdeśa and Phalāśruti (कर्मफलनिर्देशः फलश्रुतिश्च)
स नर: सर्वकामांश्व कीर्ति प्राप्पेह शौनक । गच्छेत् परमिकां सिद्धिमत्र मे नास्ति संशय:,शौनकजी! जो मनुष्य ब्राह्मणोंको आगे करके गम्भीर अर्थसे परिपूर्ण और वेदकी समानता करनेवाले इस व्यासप्रणीत पवित्र इतिहासका श्रवण करता है वह इस जगतमें सारे मनोवाड्छित भोगों और उत्तम कीर्तिको पाकर परम सिद्धि प्राप्त कर लेता है। इस विषयमें मुझे तनिक भी संशय नहीं है
sa naraḥ sarvakāmāṁś ca kīrtiṁ prāpya iha śaunaka | gacchet paramikāṁ siddhim atra me nāsti saṁśayaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: O Śaunaka, the man who listens to this sacred history composed by Vyāsa—profound in meaning and comparable to the Veda—placing the Brāhmaṇas at the forefront, gains in this very world all desired enjoyments and noble fame, and thereafter attains the highest perfection. Of this, I have not the slightest doubt.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a phalaśruti: reverent listening to Vyāsa’s Mahābhārata—treated as Veda-like in depth and authority, and undertaken with due honor to Brāhmaṇas—yields both worldly fulfillment (desired enjoyments and good fame) and the highest spiritual attainment (paramā siddhi).
At the close of the epic’s concluding section, Vaiśampāyana addresses Śaunaka and affirms the fruit of hearing this sacred history. It functions as a concluding assurance that the Mahābhārata’s recitation/listening, performed properly, brings auspicious results without doubt.